Parent Leader Adriana’s testimony on child care was read in Sacramento on April 3, 2025. Adriana was supposed to be in Sacramento in person to speak before the California Senate Budget Subcommittee 3 on Health and Human Services. However, her baby fell ill, and she needed to stay back and care for him. We understand! We are all parents and we show up for each other. Thank you to Parent Voices Marin Organizer Amarantha for reading Adriana’s testimony in Sacramento! We’re proud to share Adriana’s testimony here.
Parent Leader Adriana’s Child Care Speech at the California Senate Budget Health & Human Services Committee Hearing 4/3/25
Hi, my name is Adriana. I live in Hayward with my partner and my son, and I am a leader with Parent Voices.
My son is just 3-months-old, but already it has been very difficult for our family not having child care. When I first found out about Community Child Care Coalition of Alameda County (4Cs), I was excited because I knew even when I was pregnant it would be hard for our family to not have child care. We both need to work in order to pay for everything.
But the process has been harder than I thought.
I have been calling them but they always tell me the same thing. I need to wait. It takes a long time. They don’t have any more funding to provide me with child care right now.
They tell me that there are a lot of other families waiting just in our County. I am not the only one.
It feels really bad being on the waiting list. I’m already feeling no hope, and it’s only been a few months. I really cannot imagine what my family is going to do if we need to wait much longer, but it doesn’t seem like there is any end in sight to this waiting list.
My experience shows why this is such an important issue for Parent Voices families. Being in Parent Voices, I’ve learned why it is that we have waiting lists. For one, we need more funding for child care spaces. But also, if we do not pay child care providers what they deserve, how are we even going to have enough people to actually care for our kids?
And if the providers are making such low wages, they will be stressed out and worried. The work they do is so important. They deserve to make a good salary for helping us raise our kids so that we can go to work, pay rent, and put food on the table. Especially with how expensive everything is in California.
I hope that one day, nobody has to feel the feeling of desperation that is being on the child care waiting list.
And I know that until we pay child care providers a good salary, we will continue to have waiting lists, because there will not be enough people who want to do this job to take care of all the kids who need it. That is why I am proud to be here today to speak up for all the families like mine who are sitting on the waiting list, waiting for the day they get called.
And I also want to speak up and show support for the child care providers out there. Only parents who need child care know just how valuable child care is, and just how valuable child care providers are. I am urging this Committee to do everything in your power to make sure we accomplish rate reform, so child care providers can finally earn what they deserve and more families like mine can come off the waiting list.
Thank you.
- Video of the Senate Health and Human Services hearing where Amarantha delivered Adriana’s testimony can be found here.
- Read Parent Leader Selam’s speech at a March 2025 Child Care Providers United rally in San Francisco